


No Rest for the Wicked

by ilsafausts (phoenix_cry)



Category: Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, F/M, Female Friendship, First Kiss, Fluffy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Women Being Awesome, post fallout, slight spoilers for Fallout, women being supportive of each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 07:47:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15681099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenix_cry/pseuds/ilsafausts
Summary: With Ethan still recuperating from his injuries, Ilsa watches over him as he rests, and gets some unexpected advice from a surprising source.





	No Rest for the Wicked

Ilsa woke from a light sleep with a start, and looked around the dimly-lit medical tent for the source of the noise that had woken her. Blinking several times to rid her eyes of the last remnants of sleep, she let her eyes scan the tent, but otherwise remained completely still.

Movement in a corner made her eyes snap towards it and her body relaxed at once, as her brain acknowledged the person kneeling by a supply cart as no threat to either her or Ethan. 

Glancing to her right to check on him quickly, she was satisfied to still find him resting peacefully in his small hospital bed.

Slowly sitting up in her uncomfortable plastic chair, trying not to startle the other woman, she whispered, “Julia?” 

Nonetheless, the doctor jumped slightly and looked up, like a deer caught in the headlights. “Ilsa!” She said softly. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I bumped into the cart and spilled some supplies by accident.”

“It’s all right, I didn’t mean to fall asleep anyway,” Ilsa whispered back and got up from her chair, stretching her stiff muscles quickly, before walking over to help Julia pick up the supplies that were still lying scattered on the floor. 

“It’s good you did, though. You need your rest. Your body needs to heal, too.” 

“It's just a few bumps and bruises. Nothing my body can’t handle and hasn’t done so before.” 

“Does it come with the job description?” Julia wondered sarcastically. “To act like these badass agents, who never stop to rest and take care of their bodies, even when they’ve got a limb hanging off?”

“Is ‘a limb hanging off’ the official medical term?”

“You’re funny.”

“Thanks.”

“So, does it?”

“I think it’s more like an unspoken rule, because we usually just don’t have to time to stop and rest. There’s always something happening that’s more important,” Ilsa admitted and shrugged, putting the last of the scattered bandages back into their drawer.

Julia nodded. “I remember Ethan coming home once, cracked ribs, a broken ankle. Much like he is right now. I urged him to stay in bed for a few days, at least, give his bones a chance to heal. He stayed in bed for a day, before the agency called him again and he left. I didn’t sleep more than two hours in the next few days, not knowing where he was and how he was doing. The worry was eating me alive, but I still appreciated what he put himself through to make this world a safer place. That was also the moment that I knew we’d never work out, not in the long run.”

“I’m sorry, Julia,” Ilsa said, careful to not let her voice carry and disturb Ethan’s sleep, and squeezed Julia’s arm lightly. “We all knew what we were signing up for, but you didn’t. I know Ethan still loves you and it pains him deeply what he put you through.”

“It’s okay. We talked and, really, there’s nothing he has to be sorry for. I’m a stronger person than I ever was before I met Ethan Hunt, and I’m thankful for that.” 

Both straightening from their kneeling positions on the floor, they looked towards Ethan’s resting figure. Then, Julia turned and smiled at Ilsa.

“So, what’s the deal with you two?”

Ilsa’s eyebrow shot upwards in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Come on, Agent Faust,” she said teasingly. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. And the way you look at him. I mean, you’ve been sitting in that tiny chair all night, just to stand guard over him and make sure he’s okay. It’s obvious you have feelings for each other.”

Ilsa sighed deeply, not sure how to reply. What did you say to the ex-wife of the man you may have feelings for? It’s not like she had ever been in this situation before.

“Hey, I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Julia said seriously, obviously reading her thoughts. This time it was her hand that squeezed Ilsa’s arm gently. “I may be his ex-wife and a part of me will always love him, but I’m happy with my new husband and it would be pretty hypocritical of me, if I stopped Ethan from being happy, too.”

“You’re a good person, Julia,” Ilsa stated, smiling slightly, before she slowly admitted, “I...do have feelings for him. Do I love him? Maybe. I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve had a lot of time to stop and think about it, really. Like you said, it’s always one mission after the other. Or just one  _ really _ long one.” Thinking about the last four years of her life kind of gave her a headache. 

“I can’t even imagine what that must be like. But I do think it would be a bit easier if you’d have someone to share this… lifestyle with.”

Ilsa huffed a quiet laugh. “Are you playing matchmaker for your ex-husband, Julia?”

Julia grinned. “So what if I am?” Sobering up slightly, she added, “Give it a chance. It might sound cliché, but you both deserve to be happy, Ilsa.”

“Thank you, Julia.”

“Now, go back to sleep! In an actual bed, if you will.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Ilsa saluted the doctor teasingly, and they both shared another quiet laugh.

She watched as Julia left the tent, before making her way back over to Ethan’s bedside, reclaiming her chair. 

“Didn’t you just agree to lay down in a bed?” Ethan mumbled sleepily, blearily blinking over at her. 

Ilsa rolled her eyes, not really surprised to find him awake. “If I had any intention of sleeping, I would.”

“I appreciate you watching over me, but there’s no danger here, Ilsa. You can stand down.”

“I don’t think I know how to do that,” she admitted, before changing the subject. “And you should be asleep.”

“That’s kinda hard when the two women you care about most in the world are having a mysterious conversation by your bedside.” 

It wasn’t news to her that he cared about her. Even if she hadn’t figured that out on her own a while back, the conversation she had had with Luther would have eventually clued her in. It was still different to hear it from Ethan himself, however, and she found her cheeks turning hot, much to her mortification. She just hoped that he wouldn’t be able to see the redness in her cheeks in the dim light. 

“There was really nothing mysterious about it,” Ilsa deflected. “I helped her pick up some supplies and she told me how stubborn we both are when it comes to letting our bodies get the rest they apparently deserve.”

Ethan grinned sleepily. “Yeah, she was always nagging me about that. Guess that hasn’t changed a bit.”

His right hand suddenly grasped hers that was resting on the mattress beside his hip, and tangled their fingers together. Her eyes shot up to meet his, and she was left breathless by the warmth she found there. “If it makes the other thing, you conveniently neglected to mention, any easier for you,” he began, voice barely above a whisper, but no less powerful in its intention, “Julia was right. I do have feelings for you.”

Ilsa huffed a laugh and shook her head, quirking a grin at him. “Of course you heard that.”

“What can I say, I’ve always had a light sleep and pretty good hearing. Much like you.”

“Ethan-”

“You don’t have to say anything right now. Or ever. There’s no pressure. I just wanted you to know how I felt,” he interrupted, sounding almost nervous.

“Will you just shut up and let me talk, you idiot?” 

“Sorry.”

She took a deep breath and then simply said, “I love you.”

For once, it was his turn to be left breathless. “Well, damn…”

Ilsa laughed. “That’s exactly what every woman likes to hear in such a situation.”

“Sorry,” he apologized again, grinning at her goofily. “Of course, what I meant to say was - I love you, too.”

“Good,” she said, smiling, before standing from her seat to hover over him. Searching his eyes for consent, she leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his lips, once she’d found it. His hand reached up to brush against her cheek and tangle in her hair and Ilsa sighed happily against his lips. 

Julia really had been right, Ilsa thought. They both deserved to be happy.

 

*

 

Outside the tent, Julia grinned and bounced on her feet happily, not at all feeling guilty for having eavesdropped on their conversation. 

They were both so stubborn, she had assumed she would have had to whack them both over the head to make them see sense. 

She was glad she had been wrong. 

 

~fin

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I know many of you would like to read some Ilsa/Julia fic, in the not-so-platonic sense. And maybe one day, I will get around to writing such a fic. Today is not that day, however. Sorry.
> 
> I hope you've still enjoyed this little story. 
> 
> I had fun adding some more to the friendship that was hinted at in the movie. Maybe we'll get to see more of it in MI7 ;)
> 
> (Also, I typed this down really quickly during lunch break, so please excuse any mistakes)


End file.
